End of Term feel as Leicester and Chelsea reach stalemate

Leicester City 0:0 Chelsea

Leicester and Chelsea failed to trouble the scoreboard in a low-key end to the season at the King Power Stadium on Sunday…

Brendan Rodgers named an unchanged side, City’s only change being the first airing of next season’s Adidas kit, reverting back to white shorts.
It was a game played out in bright sunshine with City lacking their usual zip and Chelsea’s minds firmly on the Europa League Final.

Chelsea should have gone ahead in the 3rd minute when City’s defence were caught out by a Jorginho chip into the box that found Barkley unmarked, but Schmeichel stood up well and the shot clipped his shoulder.
Four minutes later Chelsea threatened again when  Zappacosta crossed from the right but Loftus-Cheek couldn’t get his header on target.
City’s first chance came in the 9th minute when a clearance fell for Choudhury on the edge of the area, but he volleyed over the bar.

Chilwell was the next to try his luck but his 20 yarder went straight at Caballero.
City gradually got control of the game and, following a corner, Tielemans struck a long range effort but it went straight at Caballero again.
The Chelsea keeper didn’t have to move to collect the next effort either, a header from Vardy.
After a fairly uneventful first half both sides spurned gilt-edged chances in the final minute. Luiz slipped over to allow Vardy in down the left, but he opted to pass to Tielemans instead of shooting and there was too much weight on the ball. Tielemans shot from a tight angle at the far post was smothered by Caballero.
As play moved up the other end Willian fed Alonso, whose cross set up Higuain with a sitter from six yards but his attempted back heel went wrong and the ball trundled wide of the left hand post.

City pressed forward early in the second half and a wayward ball sent Vardy haring down the left. As he shaped to shoot Azpilicueta gave him a sly nudge and all City got was a corner. The flag-kick was cleared as far as Tielemans, 30 yards out, and though he connected beautifully with a half-volley it went narrowly wide.
The game returned to its lacklustre pace. Barkley, in plenty of space, sent a shot well wide, while City were failing to create any chances.
There was a rousing rendition of ‘Vichai Had a Dream’ in the 61st minute, and then huge cheers when Brendan Rodgers made his first change, bringing on Okazaki for his farewell appearance in place of Ndidi.
Chelsea also made a change bringing on Hazard, who also received applause for his part in our title win.

Ten minutes later Simpson also came on for his last appearance in a City shirt, replacing Albrighton for another warm reception.
In the 80th minute Chilwell went on a long run that ended with him cutting a ball back from the byline, but it evaded all the onrushing blue shirts.
With seven minutes remaining there was a scramble in the City area which saw Loftus-Cheek playing a ball to Hazard but he was flattened by Evans who thankfully also got the ball.
Barnes replaced Maddison for the final five minutes, and set up Tielemans for a shot that the Belgian fired well over the bar.

The final whistle brought an end to a game lacking in incident, but the vast majority of the crowd remained in place for the lap of appreciation. There were special tributes for the departing Immortals Danny Simpson and Shinji Okazaki, while Top led the lap of the pitch to huge applause.
City finished the season in 9th place which, considering everything, wasn’t too bad at all.
Brendan Rodgers was already thinking about next season: “We beat Arsenal, played well against Manchester City and got a point today. People thought we would not get any points from the last three games. It’s been a nice induction into the club – the players have been good, the supporters. We’ll now add that bit of depth to the squad.”

Leicester: Schmeichel, Ricardo, Evans, Maguire, Chilwell, Ndidi (Okazaki 66), Albrighton (Simpson 76), Tielemans, Choudhury, Maddison (Barnes 84), Vardy.
Substitutes: Morgan, Gray, Iheanacho, Ward.
Chelsea: Caballero, Zappacosta, Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Alonso, Barkley (Kovacic 76), Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Pedro, Higuaín (Giroud 84), Willian (Hazard 69).
Substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Christensen, Emerson, Guehi.

Referee: Anthony Taylor. Attendance: 32,140.

PHOTOS: Simon Kimber.

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FOX 213 – The Leicester City fanzine – in the shops now

The 213th edition of The FOX – is now in the shops and will be on sale before the Chelsea game…

It features: An exclusive interview with former City captain Simon Grayson; Fully Programmed from the Martin O’Neill era; Fox Diary – the Rodgers Revolution; the History of Leicester City in 100 Objects; the latest news from the Foxes Trust; Favourite Shirts – your nostalgic nylon; Rewind – girl hoolies from 1975; Foxed in the Head – on the perils of moving house, attempted accents and the trip to West Ham; John Hutchinson looks back on Filbert Street first floodlit games; your letters and Bentley’s Roof, and the return of Rob ‘n’ Den – the ex-Leicester Men…

The most fun you can have for £2.50…

Simon Grayson Interview extract…

FOX: You dropped into a team that had found a bit of momentum, and they got into the play-offs. It was a good period down here, lots of night games and late wins and Rooster Russell goals. How did it feel for you?

SG: I was just very happy to be playing first team football. You knew that every time you stepped out onto the pitch it really meant something, not like playing in the Central League. This was about people’s livelihoods, and the feelings of life-long supporters. We had some great results, and went up to Blackburn, who were flying at the time, and beat them at Ewood Park. It was buzzing down here and I thought ‘this is what football is all about’.

FOX: That season finished with the Play Off Final against Blackburn at Wembley, was that your first appearance there?

SG: I’d played there in 1988 in that Mercantile Credit thing for the Football League anniversary. I think we played one 40 minute game against Forest and lost. But this was my first proper appearance. It felt very strange, about 12 games after playing for Leeds reserves I was playing in front of about 70,000 people for a place in the Premier League. We were playing Blackburn who had Dalglish as their manager and had spent loads of money on players like Mike Newell and Gordon Cowans. I played in midfield and remember chasing around after Cowans on a red hot day and hardly getting a kick. It was a great experience even though we lost the game.

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You can buy a copy of FOX 213 online via Paypal HERE. 

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Leicester edged out by spectacular Kompany strike

Manchester City 1-0 Leicester City

City put in a great performance at the Etihad on Monday night, but couldn’t put a twist into the title race, falling to a superb strike from Vincent Kompany in the 70th minute…

All eyes were on the Etihad Stadium on Monday night with Leicester viewed as Liverpool’s last realistic hope to put a spoke in the Manchester City wheel before next week’s finale.
Brendan Rodgers named an unchanged side and they started well.
Both sides enjoyed a spell of possession in a cagey opening, and it was City who had the first chance in the 8th minute. Ricardo cut in from the right, opted to stay on his feet after a challenge that should have led to a penalty, and fired in a shot that Kompany blocked by throwing himself to the deck.
Three minutes later Man City had their first chance when Walker lifted a ball into the area, finding an unmarked Foden played onside by Chilwell, but his chest down and shot went straight at Schmeichel.
At the other end Tielemans fired a long-range effort that didn’t test Ederson and then,
from a Man City corner, Sterling and then Foden both miscued their volleys.
Halfway through the first half, with City competing well and snuffing out Man City’s attacks, the tension was beginning to mount.
The home side had a spell of pressure around the half hour mark, Gundogan had a shot deflected wide and then they went very close from a corner. Aguero nipped in for a near post header which struck the underside of the bar before Schmeichel reacted well to claw it away.
Man City kept the pressure on and David Silva’s half-volley went through a crowded area before going inches wide. City were managing the occasional break but not threatening, and as Bernardo Silva had a shot blocked, and then Gundogan fired just off target, they were looking forward to hearing the half time whistle. It arrived with City’s goal intact, and half of Merseyside daring to hope.

The Champions’ first chance of the second half came in the 53rd minute, when Silva got his head to a Walker cross, the ball looped up and fell kindly for an unmarked Sterling, but he got under his header and sent it well over from close in.
City were now entirely pinned in their own half and could only soak up the pressure. Gundogan sent a shot narrowly wide and then there were big penalty appeals when Sterling was sandwiched by Choudhury and Chilwell, but both had got a touch of the ball.
City then had a rare foray forward when Maguire strode out of defence, beat a couple of men and found himself on the left wing. He fed a ball inside to Maddison who attempted to curl a shot round Ederson, when a ball to Albrighton may have been a better option.
The anguish of the home fans increased in the 69th minute: Gundogan poked a ball through Evans’ legs setting up Aguero in a one-on-one with Schmeichel, but the City keeper brilliantly threw out a leg to deny him. However, the tension bubble was about to burst with twenty minutes remaining.
Kompany strode forward, no one closed him down, and he unleashed a 25 yarder that swerved round Maguire and into the top right hand corner. It was the first time Kompany had ever scored from outside the area and will almost certainly go down in Manchester City history as the title-winner.
The pressure eased and City had more of the ball, but couldn’t trouble the Man City defence. Rodgers brought Barnes on for Tielemans, Iheanacho for Maddison, and then Gray for Albrighton, but Man City were in full killing the game off mode now. This was summed up when it took Aguero what seemed like a fortnight to leave the field when substituted.
And they nearly paid for it with three minutes remaining. Choudhury, magnificent again, won a challenge in midfield and then strode forward shrugging off challenges before feeding a precise ball to Iheanacho, who lamely stroked the ball ten yards wide from a great position…
It was the last meaningful chance of the game, which had seen an excellent City performance that boded well for next season, let down by one defensive lapse.
Man City are now highly likely to win the title, and deservedly so, but it was also a night when City’s top six ambitions didn’t look too far-fetched.

Bendan Rodgers summed up: “I’m very proud of the team and it bodes well for the future in terms of the personality we played with, particularly in the first half. How we built the game, finding positions to play forward, it was very good. Start of the second half, that’s the area we need to be better in. Because we didn’t build the game up so well and you get a bit of relief for a second and then it comes back at you. So that’s the bit that we’ll analyse. Those are the things that we’re working on in these early stages.”

Man City: Ederson, Walker, Kompany, Laporte, Zinchenko, Foden (Sané 56), Gündogan, Silva (Stones 90), Bernardo Silva, Agüero (Jesus 87), Sterling.
Substitutes: Danilo, Mahrez, Otamendi, Muric.
Leicester: Schmeichel, Ricardo, Evans, Maguire, Chilwell, Albrighton (Gray 85), Tielemans (Barnes 75), Ndidi, Choudhury, Maddison (Iheanacho 80), Vardy.
Substitutes: Morgan, Ward, Mendy, Fuchs.

Referee: Mike Dean. Attendance: 54,506.

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Arsenal outclassed by rampant Leicester

Leicester City 3:0 Arsenal

City produced a fine performance against an Arsenal side reduced to ten men at the KPS on Sunday, with an opener from Tielemans and two Vardy strikes sealing a 3-0 win…

Brendan Rodgers made one change to his side for this noon kick off, with Choudhury brought in to bolster the midfield and Gray dropped.
City looked the better side right from the start, and won a free-kick when Mustafi brought down Maddison 30 yards out . Maddison delivered the ball to Ndidi in space but he made a hash of his shot.
Four minutes later another free-kick, chipped in by Chilwell was met with a diving header from Evans, but it went straight at Leno.
A sign of how stretched Arsenal were came in the 7th minute when Maitland-Niles was booked for halting a City break by tripping Chilwell.
A minute later Maddison had a shot deflected wide as City kept the pressure up.
Play was then held up while Torreira received treatment after some superb tackling from Choudhury that had had the crowd chanting his name.

After some good work from Chilwell the ball sat up nicely for Tielemans, but he shanked his half-volley well wide.
After Ndidi was booked for a foul on Xhaka, City went close again but Tielemans effort was blocked by the advancing Leno.
It was all City at this stage, with the screens showing 82% possession, and Choudhury set up Maddison for a 20 yard shot that went inches wide of the left-hand post.
Arsenal then had their first chance of the game in the 22nd minute when Iwobi raced down the left and crossed for Lacazette, whose attempted volley went well wide.
Vardy then sent Maddison through but he opted to shoot with Albrighton in acres of space and screwed a low shot wide.
Maddison’s next shot was on target, but tipped away by Leno as the chances mounted.
From the resulting corner Ndidi nipped in front of Sokratis to head goalwards, but Leno again rescued Arsenal with a fine save.
The 31st minute saw yet another City chance when Albrighton floated a ball over the Gunners defence for Vardy who lobbed Leno but also cleared the bar by a couple of yards.
Arsenal attacks were rare, but dangerous, and in the 35th minute Aubameyang played in Iwobi one on one with Schmeichel, but the City keeper managed to block a weak shot.
A minute later Arsenal were reduced to ten men when Maitland-Niles fouled Maddison and Michael Oliver showed him his second yellow, followed by a red. A furious Arsenal bench thought Maddison had made too much of it.
The final chance of the half fell for Vardy, whose fierce shot was denied by Leno, who got down smartly to block at his near post.
City had been totally dominant against eleven men, and with Arsenal down to ten, the second half promised much.

Brendan Rodgers upped the attacking intent for the second half, bringing on Barnes for Ndidi and the one-way traffic towards Arsenal’s goal continued. Barnes had the measure of Mustafi down the left, cutting in and attempting a near post shot that didn’t catch Leno out. City were getting plenty of crosses in from both flanks but the Gunners defence were dealing with them and it looked like it could be another frustrating afternoon for while.
But City made the breakthrough in the 59th minute. Maddison swung a precise ball into the area, perfectly meeting Tielemans run and the Belgian directed a header home giving Leno no chance.
“SIGN HIM UP!” was the chant around the ground.

City continued to press forward and Sokratis was booked for a foul on Maddison, 25 yards out. Michael Oliver had to have a word with Unai Emery, who was in a gibbering rage, before Tielemans fired his free-kick into the wall.
Tempers were beginning to fray with Chilwell booked for fouling Sokratis as he threatened to break upfield and then Torreira screaming for a penalty, claiming he had been elbowed by Evans.
Tielemans then strode forward and unleashed a 25-yarder that went inches wide of the post as City looked to extend their lead. The overworked Leno made two fine saves in three seconds flying across goal to bat away shots from Ricardo and then Barnes, before Choudhury’s low shot went straight into his arms.
Play was held up after Mustafi and Chilwell clashed heads, before Brendan Rodgers brought Mendy on for Choudhury in the 79th minute. The youngster received a standing ovation for a fine afternoon’s work.
With Arsenal winning a few corners and beginning to show signs of life, City put the game to bed in the 86th minute. The coaching manual was thrown out of the window for the most direct of goals. Schmeichel launched a huge kick forward and Vardy outmanoeuvred Koscielny and Mustafi, to find himself one on one with Leno. His lob over the keeper hit the crossbar but fell nicely for him to nod home past Leno’s despairing challenge.

City continued to press forward in the five minutes time added on, and Vardy slipped a ball through to Barnes who sent his shot too close to Leno.
In the dying seconds of the game City struck again for a scoreline that reflected the game. Good work from Ricardo down the right saw him square a ball across the face of goal for an unmarked Vardy to notch his 9th goal in eight games.

It put the lid on a superb City performance, moving them up to 8th place, as Arsenal registered their lowest ever possession stats for a Premier League game.

Brendan Rodgers commented: “It was a very good performance. We didn’t waste any time today. We showed we are a good side. I thought 11 vs 11, we were the better side. When it went to 11 vs 10, we were asked a question: could we handle the extra man? Could we find a game that we understand how to play against 10 men? The players responded to that magnificently.”

Leicester: Schmeichel, Ricardo, Evans, Maguire, Chilwell, Ndidi (Barnes 45), Albrighton (Gray 86), Tielemans, Choudhury (Mendy 79), Maddison, Vardy.
Substitutes: Söyüncü, Iheanacho, Ward, Fuchs.
Arsenal: Leno, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Papastathopoulos, Kolasinac, Mkhitaryan (Guendouzi 73), Torreira, Xhaka, Iwobi (Koscielny 45), Aubameyang, Lacazette (Nketiah 79).
Substitutes:Cech, Elneny, Mavropanos, Willock.
Referee: Michael Oliver. Attendance: 32,037.

PHOTOS: Simon Kimber.

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Late Barnes strike snatches point for Leicester at the London Stadium

West Ham United 2:2 Leicester City

Harvey Barnes first goal for City earned them an injury-time point in a 2-2 draw at West Ham on Saturday…

Brendan Rodgers made two changes to his his side, with Morgan and Barnes making way for Evans and Albrighton.
On a blazing hot day in East London, this game had an end of season feel about it and a fairly lethargic first half unfolded.
The first chance fell to City in the 4th minute. Albrighton played a ball forward, Vardy nodded it back to Maddison, who made room for a shot that went too close to Fabianski.
A period of West Ham pressure followed, though City weren’t too too stretched as they defended a series of corners and free-kicks.
The home side’s first real chance came in the 25th minute when Arnautovic fired a cross into the six yard box, but Ricardo managed to block what should have been a far post tap in for Antonio and the ball looped up into Schmeichel’s grasp.
A rare chance for City arrived in the 32nd minute when Maddison again made room for himself 20 yards out, but again failed to test Fabianski.
West Ham pressed again, Snodgrass robbing Tielemans and feeding Anderson, whose fierce shot hit Antonio and deflected wide.
The warning signs had been there for City, who looked very subdued, and the Hammers took a 37th minute lead. After a patient passing move Noble got in down the left and delivered a cross for Antonio that saw him rise above Chilwell to nod home past Schmeichel from 8 yards.
It was a lead that West Ham took down the tunnel at half time, and no one could argue that City deserved more.

City continued to struggle after the break, despite West Ham moving down a gear, but things began to improve on the hour. They started to press forward, and then Rodgers made his first change, bringing Barnes on for Albrighton.
Chilwell then burst into the penalty area, before going to ground, but his appeals for a penalty looked optimistic. But a minute later City were back in the game.
Chilwell delivered a cross from the left and Vardy nipped ahead of Balbuena for a superb near post finish.
This woke the game up, and City went close again two minutes later when the ball fell for Ndidi after some pinball in the area but his side-footed effort went a couple of yards wide of the right hand post.
It was end-to-end stuff now, and Maguire blocked an Anderson shot, before Maddison fired one wide.
It looked as though there were more goals in the game, and so it proved.
West Ham regained their lead in the 82nd minute with two substitutes combining – Obiang sent a low 20 yarder thumping against the post and Pérez, who had followed up, only had to stick a foot out to finish past a grounded Schmeichel.
Pérez then had the ball in the net again after rounding Schmeichel but was judged to be offside, though this appeared to be a harsh decision from the replays.
Rodgers brought Iheanacho on for Gray as City tried to find a way back.
A Vardy cross just eluded Barnes and Iheanacho and then Barnes crossed for Iheanacho who seemed to be in two minds whether to connect with head or foot.
As City laid siege to the Hammers’ area Maddison had a shot blocked and Chilwell sent a long range effort straight at Fabianski.
As play entered five minutes of time-added-on City had all the possession, and they managed to unlock West Ham’s defence in the 92nd minute. Tielemans spotted Barnes’s run into the area and threaded a superb ball through to him. Barnes sent a precise shot across Fabianski and in at the far post, his first goal in a City shirt.
It hadn’t been a great performance from City, before they roused themselves for the final half hour, but it was a well-earned point in the end.

Brendan Rodgers explained his decision to leave Barnes out: “Today I took him out of the team so he could come into the game and hopefully make an impact because there has been a lot around him about getting his first goal and everything. It can sometimes weigh on the minds of young players so I took him out of the starting line-up to see if he could come in and make an impact. He put a couple of great crosses into the box and made a wonderful run and finish. I am delighted for him because it is a wonderful moment for a young player, to celebrate with the supporters. I am very pleased for him.”

United: Fabianski, Zabaleta, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Rice, Antonio, Noble (Wilshere 85), Snodgrass (Obiang 73), Felipe Anderson, Arnautovic (Pérez 78).
Substitutes: Adrián, Diop, Fredericks, Diangana.
Leicester: Schmeichel, Ricardo, Evans, Maguire, Chilwell, Albrighton (Barnes 64), Ndidi, Tielemans (Mendy 90), Gray (Iheanacho 84), Maddison, Vardy.
Substitutes: Söyüncü, Ward, Okazaki, Fuchs.
Referee: Lee Probert. Attendance: 59,960.

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FOX 212 – The Leicester City fanzine – is in the shops now

The 212th edition of The FOX – is now in the shops…

It features: An exclusive interview with Swindon Town manager and former City midfielder Richie Wellens; Lots about Brendan Rodgers; Fully Programmed from the David Pleat era; Fox Diary – adieu to Claude Puel; the History of Leicester City in 100 Objects; the latest news from the Foxes Trust; Favourite Shirts – your nostalgic nylon; Rewind – back in the big time after ten years; Foxed in the Head – on balls, the Holy ebay Grail and a grand day out in Middlesbrough; Details on our new interviews compilation book – ‘Can’t Buy That Feeling’; John Hutchinson looks back on Frank Large’s brief but brilliant time at Filbert Street; your letters and Bentley’s Roof, and FiftySomething has a lively debate with some Celts…

The most fun you can have for £2.50…

Richie Wellens Interview extract…

FOX: As a manager now, can you look back at Paulo Sousa’s short reign and identify what went wrong?

RW: One hundred percent. He tried to do too much too quickly. He had a certain style at Swansea, open expansive football. He’d had a goalkeeper that was comfortable with the ball, but at Leicester he didn’t. At Leicester he had a back four that was strong and committed and defended the box very well, but suddenly he wanted them to be open and to play the ball out. We just weren’t ready for that style at the time. He was an unbelievable coach, his training sessions were very intense and specific. He knew what he wanted, but he didn’t get the results to buy himself some time.

FOX: He was quickly replaced by Sven Goran Eriksson, was that a surprise to the squad?

RW: We weren’t surprised because we’d had a little inkling that he was coming, but we were pleased.
I think Mike Stowell and Steve Beaglehole took charge for one game and then it was an international break so we were off to Bangkok. We went to Heathrow and met him for the first time in a lounge airport. We were a bit nervous with him being such a big name. He said: ”Hello lads, if you want to go and have a drink that’s fine, it’s a long flight.”
We were all thinking “Is this a test?” Well, if it was a test we failed. We went and had a few beers and it was fine, he was very light-hearted. It was a thirteen-hour flight and I’m one of those who can’t sleep on a plane. I went up to the toilet and Sven was getting changed from his tracksuit into his suit for the landing. I had a twenty minute conversation with him and straight away you could see that his man-management skills were brilliant. He has an air of expertise and calmness about him, and you could see that he was a class act.

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You can buy a copy of FOX 212 online via Paypal HERE. 

 

Leicester beaten by Newcastle after Rafa does his homework

Leicester City 0:1 Newcastle United

City suffered a frustrating evening at the King Power Stadium on Friday night as Newcastle defended solidly and engineered a 1-0 win…

Brendan Rodgers made one change to his side with Maguire in for Söyüncü, while Albrighton returned to the bench after four months out with injury.
In a lively start Newcastle were the first to threaten in the second minute when Lascelles got a header on target from the corner, but it didn’t trouble Schmeichel.
As play swept up the other end Barnes crossed for Vardy, but his near post flick was easily saved by Dubravka.
After these early exchanges the game settled in a pattern of City possession with Newcastle denying them any space and looking to hit on the break.

Barnes fired a shot well over, but City’s passing wasn’t up to the standard of recent weeks and they were struggling to create anything.
In the 15th minute, with the scoreboard showing that City had 81% possession, Rondon sent a well-struck free-kick against the bar. So much for stats.
Chilwell then played a one-two with Maddison into the area, but Chilwell’s shot didn’t have enough to beat Dubravka.
After a couple of speculative shots from Almiron and Hayden, Barnes raced past two markers before firing in a shot that was too close to Dubravka, who gathered at the second attempt.
Newcastle had looked threatening going forward, and took a 32nd minute lead. Ritchie whipped in a great cross from the left and Perez, nipping ahead of Morgan, produced a fine header that looped over Schmeichel and into the net.

Two minutes later Newcastle could have gone further ahead when Almiron outpaced Morgan down the left channel and fired in a low shot that Schmeichel had to get down smartly to to block at his near post.
City looked a bit rattled and their frustration saw Tielemans booked for a nasty late challenge on Ki. They were the side who were happier to hear the half time whistle.

City didn’t come racing out of the traps for the second half. The first effort saw Ndidi ballooning a shot well over the bar in the 50th minute and then Almiron did similar at the other end.
City didn’t create a chance until the 62nd minute, when Maddison’s cross from the left grazed Vardy’s forehead before going wide.

With City unable to find any space in Newcastle’s third, the best chance of scoring appeared to be from a free-kick. But when Maddison earned one 25 yards out, he opted for a pass which went straight into the Newcastle wall.
The frustration was bubbling and in the 68th minute Schmeichel earned himself a yellow card for coming out to the halfway line to berate the ref about something that had mysteriously enraged him. Something had to change and in the 72nd minute Rodgers brought Iheanacho and Mendy on for Gray and Ndidi.
In the 75th minute a foul on Maguire saw a yellow card for Schar and a free-kick in Maddison territory. But he couldn’t repeat his recent successes, sending his shot sailing into the Kop.
Perez then wriggled his way  through the penalty area before Schmeichel managed to block his effort from close range.
City’s best chance of the night came in the 79th minute when Tielemans fed a fine ball through to Vardy, but he lifted his effort over both keeper and bar.
The biggest cheer of the night from the home fans came when Albrighton was introduced for Barnes with ten minutes remaining.

City pressed forward, switched play from left to right, and tried to get in behind on both flanks, but they were met with a black and white striped wall and could not find a way through. Too many players had an off day and Rafa Benitez had clearly done his homework on how to negate City’s routes to goal.
The four-match winning streak was over and 7th place was beginning to look a little beyond them.

Brendan Rodgers summed up: “It was one of those nights where it didn’t quite come off for us but the players gave everything. We’ll go away and analyse it and hopefully we’ll be better the next time we face that kind of opponent. It’s obviously disappointing when you lose any game. The important thing is learning from it, we’re here to help the team improve eventually in these types of games.”

Leicester: Schmeichel, Ricardo, Morgan, Maguire, Chilwell, Ndidi (Mendy 72), Gray (Iheanacho 72), Tielemans, Maddison, Barnes (Albrighton 80), Vardy.
Substitutes:Evans, Ward, Okazaki, Fuchs.
Newcastle: Dubravka, Manquillo, Schär, Lascelles, Dummett, Ritchie, Pérez,
Hayden, Ki Sung-yueng (Diamé 82), Almirón (Atsu 78), Rondón.
Substitutes: Shelvey, Muto, Fernandez, Yedlin, Darlow.

Referee: Chris Kavanagh. Attendance: 32,108.

PHOTOS: Simon Kimber. 

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Can’t Buy That Feeling – Inside Leicester City – The Best of The Fox Interviews

We have finally got round to compiling all our interviews into one book and it is available now from Conker Editions Ltd HERE
and Amazon HERE

Also available from the Leicester City Fanstore and Waterstones in Leicester.

The FOX has been interviewing Leicester City players, managers, famous fans and board members for almost three decades, building up a body of work that takes you right into the very fabric of the club, with memories spanning the last 60 years.

As a City fan, you’ve come to know hundreds of players through their performance on the pitch, through potted career biographies and football sticker images. But what about the real characters behind the blue shirt and the back-page reports?

Can’t Buy That Feeling takes you inside Leicester City from the perspective of those who were there – behind the scenes at the long-running soap opera packed with comedy and tragedy, triumph and disaster, financial ruin and amazing title wins.